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#stuffed peppers with italian sausage

(Makes six servings, recipe created by Kalyn)

Ingredients:

• 6 red or green peppers, or a mixture of colors
• 1 pound extra lean ground beef (called beef mince outside of the U.S.)
• 1 pkg. (5 links/19.5 oz) turkey Italian sausage (hot or mild, but I prefer hot)
• 1 cup diced onion (1 medium onion)
• 1 cup diced red pepper (tops of peppers)
• 4-6 tsp. olive oil for browning meat and veggies
• Vege-sal to season meat (or use salt)
• fresh ground black pepper, to season meat
• 1 cup (or slightly more) spicy tomato sauce with basil (I use my own Marinara sauce from the freezer so I know it is sugar free. Bottled sauce is fine, but check the label to get the one that is lowest in sugar.)
• 2 cups grated low fat mozzarella cheese (I used skim milk mozzarella cheese with 5 grams fat per ounce)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (optional, you could use a little less mozzarella if adding this)

1. Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Cut tops off peppers, making a deep enough cut that you have some pepper to chop for the filling. Square off the bottom of each pepper to make them stand up. (It's nice to have a small hole in the bottom so any extra fat can drain out, and cutting off the bottoms also accomplishes this.) Clean out inside of peppers and wash if needed. Choose a pan that will keep the peppers standing upright and spray with olive oil or nonstick spray.
2. In very large frying pan, heat a small amount of olive oil and cook hamburger until lightly browned. (I use my turner or a potato masher to break up the meat into smaller bits as it cooks.) Put the browned meat in a colander or fine-mesh strainer, rinse with very hot water to remove fat, and let drain. In same frying pan, add a tiny amount of olive oil, squeeze turkey sausage out of links, and cook until lightly brown. Add to hamburger in colander and rinse again.
3. Add a bit more oil to pan and cook chopped peppers and onions for about 3-4 minutes, until barely starting to soften. Turn off heat and put meat back into pan with peppers and onions. Add about 1 cup tomato sauce, just enough to barely moisten the mixture. Season mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Let mixture cool slightly, then mix in cheeses, saving about 1/4 cup Mozzarella for the top of the peppers.
4. Put the peppers in the pan standing upright. Stuff each pepper with meat/veggie/cheese mixture, using a large spoon and pressing in tightly until you use all the filling. Put a pinch of Mozzarella cheese on the top of each pepper. Cover the dish loosely with foil, tenting it up so it doesn't touch the tops of the peppers.
5. Bake, covered with foil about 30 minutes. Take off foil and bake about 20 minutes more, until cheese is melted completely and top is slightly browned. Serve hot.

This freezes well, so even if you're only cooking for one or two I recommend making the full amount and stashing some in the freezer for lunches or easy dinners another time.

tags: low-carb

source: http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2005/04/stuffed-peppers-with-italian-sausage.html

This is a perfect dish for any phase of the South Beach Diet. For phase one, serve with a nice green salad like Mary's Perfect Salad. For phase two or three, you could add something like Whole Wheat Couscous Side Dish with Green Onions and Parmesan.